"To deny a population access to drinking water, basic medical supplies and food is also a way to destroy them."

Peter Mugisho Matabishi (witness and expert, Bukavu) is a political activist from Luhwindja. He took the case of BANRO and Twangiza to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). He considers the concessions from Kinshasa to be land theft.

"The corporations have been successful in circumventing the existing laws."

Saskia Sassen (member of the jury, Berlin) sociologist, economist and one of the harshest critics of globalization. She examines the destruction of civil societies as an intrinsic necessity of globalisation.

"When the government stopped mining to fight the armed groups, we became unemployed."

Stéphane Ikandi (witness, Bukavu) represents artisanal miners from Bisie and fights for the rights for artisanal miners. He discovered the mine and is the co-founder of the cooperative COMIMPA. In 2011, he had to give up his pit.

"I agree that the population rebels against the law."

Fidel Bafilemba (witness and expert, Bukavu) is the regional manager of the „Enough Project“ which controls the application of the „Dodd-Frank Act“ in Eastern Congo. He is a driving force in the banishment of the militias from the mineral trade in this region. Critical voices consider him and his organization as a lobby of the US economic leaders.

"The government has not tried everything to stop these conflicts."

Christine Kapalata (witness, Bukavu) only 3 days after the massacre in Mutarule, she agreed to make a statement on behalf of the UNO-mission. At that time, she was the Chief of Political Affairs of the MONUSCO office in Bukavu. In this position, she was mediating between political leaders and ethnic communities.

"The outdated system of aid organizations leads to dependency and ignores sustainability."

Saran Kaba Jones (member of the jury, Berlin) founder of FACE Africa in 2009, an aid agency, providing several regions in Liberia with drinking water. The Guardian listed her as one of the 25 most successful women in Africa. The World Economic Forum in Davos has chosen her to be the Young Global Leader.

"The big companies will leave us a soil without resources."

Prince Kihangi (member of the jury, Bukavu) is a lawyer and one of the leading experts on the governance of natural resources in the Great Lakes region. He is the spokesman of the civil association of Walikale (province of North Kivu). Therefore he takes part in all negotiations between the villagers, the government and the big companies from this region. He is considered to be one of the harshest critics of the Dodd-Franck Act.

"In face of the atrocities that this state has suffered, its population is threatened by the same fate as the Indians of North America."

Colette Braeckman (member of the jury, Bukavu / Berlin) is a correspondent for the Belgian newspaper Le Soir in Africa. She is an expert on the Congolese war, its history and the involvement of the European governments. Her books about the Mobutu-Era and the Congolese war are considered as standard works.

"There is no clear differentiation between perpetrators, spectators and those who are indirectly involved."

Harald Welzer (member of the jury, Berlin) is a social psychologist, founder and director of the non-profit organization “Futurzwei”. He is an honorary professor at the University of Flensburg and an author (“Climate Wars").

"If the government is corrupt, the corporations will not be able to help us with industrialization either."

Prince Kihangi (member of the jury, Bukavu) is a lawyer and one of the leading experts on the governance of natural resources in the Great Lakes region. He is the spokesman of the civil association of Walikale (province of North Kivu). Therefore he takes part in all negotiations between the villagers, the government and the big companies from this region. He is considered to be one of the harshest critics of the Dodd-Franck Act.

"My daily struggle takes place in the negotiations between the companies and the local population."

Gilbert Kalinda (member of the jury, Bukavu) is an attorney and deputy in Walikale. He was a member of a cooperative of regional miners until he decided to accept the mandate of the multinational company MagMinerals Potasses Congo (MPC). In his opinion, industrial extraction of raw materials is the only opportunity for the region.